Alexander Zverev took less than an hour to dismiss Britain’s Arthur Fery 6-0 6-2 and book a place in the Vienna semi-finals, just days before he is due to replace Jannik Sinner as world number one. The German top seed has been in commanding form in the Austrian capital, and Friday’s quarter-final offered little resistance.

A repeat of Wimbledon, with the same result

The match was a rematch of this summer’s Wimbledon semi-final, which Zverev also won in straight sets to end Fery’s surprise run at the All England Club. Reports differ slightly on the exact length of Friday’s match, putting it at 58 or 59 minutes, but not on how one-sided it was. Zverev dropped only six points on his own serve, created nine break points and converted five. Sky Sports counted 19 winners from the German.

Fery arrived in Vienna in good spirits after beating former world number five Lorenzo Musetti in the last 16. He needed treatment on his leg near the end of that match, though, and he never looked at his best against Zverev. Both outlets noted that he struggled to make an impact.

Zverev’s praise for Fery

Zverev was generous in victory. He described Fery as a different kind of opponent from the one he faced the previous day, saying the Briton lacks big firepower but “plays tactically extremely well” and is “extremely fast”. He urged Fery not to be too hard on himself. “It is his first year on the Tour and he is doing amazing things,” Zverev said, adding that he hoped Fery would keep his head up. Sky Sports reported that Fery is ranked 35th in the world.

Zverev also said he had struggled to sleep on Thursday night. He had just beaten Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the last 16, a result that lifted him above Sinner in the standings.

A rise built on a big year

When the rankings update on Monday, the 29-year-old will become the second German man to reach the top spot, after Boris Becker in 1991. The French Open and US Open champion has taken advantage of injuries to Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner this year to overtake both. He is now chasing a third title of the season, and the Vienna semi-finals will be his 12th last-four appearance of 2026, according to Sky Sports.

His opponent will be either Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur or Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.

The other half of the draw

The other Vienna semi-finals pairing is a heavyweight one. Second seed Alcaraz, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, beat American Tommy Paul 6-4 7-6 (7-2) and will face third seed Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-2 6-3, and the win secured him a place at the season-ending ATP Finals for the seventh time.

The 30-year-old Russian missed last year’s finale after qualifying every year from 2019 to 2024. He has had a resurgent season, with four titles and more than 50 wins for the first time since 2023. He joins Zverev, Alcaraz and Ben Shelton in the eight-man field. Sinner has also qualified but will not play because of injury, leaving four places still to be filled.

Elsewhere, in Tokyo, women’s world number one Elena Rybakina withdrew from her Pan Pacific Open quarter-final against Leylah Fernandez with a neck injury. She had secured the year-end number one ranking only a day earlier. Fernandez advanced by walkover and will face Russia’s Kamilla Rakhimova in the semi-finals.

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Charles Leclerc set the pace in first practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix on Friday, finishing 0.659 seconds clear of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in a session where ten rookies took over cars from the regular drivers. The result matters less for its headline than for what it hints at on Sunday. Antonelli is poised to be crowned world champion, and Ferrari look strong at altitude.

Antonelli’s title picture at the Mexico City Grand Prix

The arithmetic strongly favours the young Italian. A ninth-place finish clinches the championship whatever else happens. The only theoretical way to stop him is a win for his Mercedes team-mate George Russell or for Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton. Even then, he would need only ninth if Russell wins, or 10th if Hamilton does.

Leclerc’s margin gives Ferrari reason for optimism. Sky Sports pointed to the team’s small turbo working well in the thin air at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. Hamilton was fourth after what was described as a scruffy soft-tyre lap. Ferrari were also the only team to run both of their regular drivers in the session, and they are looking for only their third win of the season.

A session full of rookies

Teams often use Mexico City for their mandatory rookie running because the opening session is usually unrepresentative on a dirty track. This weekend is also not a Sprint weekend, and the circuit is considered relatively simple. That explains the unusual order. Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti, in Russell’s car, was third, less than a tenth behind Antonelli. Ayumu Iwasa was fifth in Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, under a second off the pace on mediums. Pierre Gasly, Fernando Alonso, Oscar Piastri, Oliver Bearman and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten.

Not every debut went smoothly. Briton Freddie Slater’s first grand prix weekend outing for Audi was cut to 14 laps, about half a normal run, because of reliability problems. He still got out late to set the 19th-fastest time. Sky Sports reported that Audi are under investigation for sending him out with a cooling fan on the car and are likely to face a big fine. Aston Martin’s Jak Crawford stopped on track with a technical problem, and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar had an early power-unit issue that ruled out serious qualifying simulations. Racing Bulls’ Nikola Tsolov, making his practice debut, finished about a tenth behind Lindblad despite saying that blood flow to his right leg had been restricted by his seat.

Herta reaches the superlicence threshold

The most consequential storyline may be off the timing screens. Colton Herta finished 22nd, but the FIA says he has now covered enough distance to reach the 40 superlicence points required to race in Formula 1. Sky Sports reported that senior figures at Cadillac are keen to give him a 2027 drive. That would threaten Valtteri Bottas’ seat, despite the multi-year deal he signed when he joined the new team. Liam Lawson’s future at Racing Bulls is also unsettled. Tsolov, a Red Bull junior, could become Formula 2 champion, and Red Bull have traditionally promoted their young drivers quickly.

The regular drivers return for second practice on Friday at 10pm UK time, which should give a truer read on whether Ferrari’s pace is genuine and whether Antonelli’s title is as safe as the numbers suggest.

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The Antonelli world title could be settled in Mexico City this Sunday, but the Mercedes driver’s build-up has been interrupted by a viral illness. Kimi Antonelli missed Thursday’s media day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, and the team says he is expected back for Friday’s practice sessions.

Mercedes described him as “feeling under the weather” and said the FIA had excused him from his mandatory media duties “as a precaution” so that he could rest before the weekend. A team spokesperson said they expected him back on Friday. The first practice session starts at 18:30 GMT.

What Antonelli needs to clinch the title

Antonelli arrives with a 123-point lead over team-mate George Russell, and only 125 points remain in the season. He comes off his ninth win of 2026, in the United States Grand Prix in Austin.

The sources describe the arithmetic in slightly different ways, but they agree on the main points. A ninth-place finish or better lets Antonelli take the championship on his own terms. If he finishes lower, or even scores nothing, he can still be champion as long as neither Russell nor Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton wins the race. BBC Sport’s analysis puts it most precisely: ninth would be enough if Russell wins, and 10th would be enough if Hamilton wins.

If he gets there, the Antonelli world title would make him the youngest champion in Formula 1 history. Sky Sports notes he would break Sebastian Vettel’s record by three years. He is 20 and in only his second season in the sport. The Associated Press adds that he would be the first Italian champion since Alberto Ascari in 1953.

A season that has turned around

The pace of Antonelli’s rise has been striking. Sky Sports points out that his 2026 campaign came after a difficult rookie year. He has won nine races to Russell’s three, and has generally had the upper hand over his team-mate.

After Austin, Antonelli sounded keen to avoid thinking of the championship as already won. “I’m very well aware it’s very close but the mindset hasn’t changed,” he told Sky Sports F1. “I want to finish the season on a high in order to have high hopes in 2027.”

Russell searches for consistency

Russell spoke to the media on Thursday and was candid about his own season. His wins have come in Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan, but he has rarely mounted a sustained challenge to Antonelli. He said he had never experienced such fluctuating form, pointing to a Baku pole position by 0.8 seconds and a win, followed by an eighth-place finish last week.

“We don’t know why that is. It’s quite strange and certainly scratching our head a little bit,” Russell said. He added that he has moved past the frustration he voiced earlier in the year and is determined not to make “irrational” changes. “These performances are in there. I’ve lost no faith that we can do it because we’ve shown that.”

Bottas also unwell, with Cadillac’s future in question

Antonelli was not the only driver absent. Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas also missed media day, with his team calling him “unwell” and saying a day of rest was a precaution that does not currently affect his participation in the rest of the weekend.

His absence comes amid speculation about his future. Cadillac announced a new deal for Sergio Perez, who stays until at least 2029, without mentioning Bottas. BBC Sport reports that the team is said to be considering promoting American reserve driver Colton Herta. Herta is having his fifth practice outing of the year on Friday, part of the effort to build the mileage needed for an F1 super licence. Sky Sports says Bottas is understood to have a contract running to the end of 2027, and BBC Sport says no decision has been made on Perez’s 2027 team-mate.

For now, the immediate question is simple: whether Antonelli recovers quickly enough to be at full strength. If he does, a ninth-place finish on Sunday would be enough to secure the Antonelli world title in Mexico City.

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Arsenal’s appeal against the Dowman red card has failed, and Mikel Arteta is using the episode to make a point about what the club expects of its brightest teenage talent. The 16-year-old will miss the trips to Liverpool and the games against Hull and Newcastle, and his manager has made clear that being young earns him protection but not exemption.

What happened at Fleetwood

Dowman was sent off five minutes before the end of normal time in Tuesday’s League Cup fourth-round tie, after reacting to a heavy challenge from Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal. The game finished 1-1 and the League Two side won 5-3 on penalties, a result that knocked the Premier League champions out. The Guardian reports that Dowman became the youngest player ever sent off in the competition. The BBC noted that his dismissal ended an Arsenal run of 79 matches without a red card.

As Dowman left the pitch, Arteta was seen having words with him. Some pundits criticised that reaction, and on Friday the manager addressed it for the first time.

Arteta’s defence of his reaction

Arteta said he had not seen the response to his reaction, but insisted context mattered. He said he had warned Dowman before kick-off that he was likely to be targeted. “It was the best reaction ever to be able to be who I am,” he said, comparing it to the way parents can react to their children in ways an outsider might not like. He also said there were “no issues at all” between them and that the pair had spoken on Thursday.

His central message was about standards. “We look after him so much that you cannot imagine,” Arteta said, “but at the same time, we’re going to demand [from] him like anybody else because he needs to earn the right to play.” He added that the other players would expect fairness, since they had to continue with ten men.

A pattern Arteta wants to end

The Fleetwood dismissal was Dowman’s second this month. He was also sent off for England Under-19s in a game against the United States, where he again took some heavy challenges. Arteta said that will continue “because of the way he plays and the way he attracts opponents”. He added that he has made similar mistakes himself and knows how much a red card can change what happens next, so the club must “put an end to it very, very quickly”.

Arsenal had “put every argument on the table” in the appeal, Arteta said. He argued that the panel should have weighed Dowman’s age and the challenges he had received, and that his reaction was “minimal in relation to the action”. He said Arsenal were lucky Dowman had not suffered a broken foot. The FA nonetheless upheld the Dowman red card, and the suspension began immediately.

Team news and what comes next

Arsenal travel to Liverpool on Sunday, level on points with leaders Manchester City, according to AFP. Noni Madueke faces a late fitness test on an ankle problem that kept him out at Fleetwood. Bukayo Saka is not expected back until at least after the international break while the club awaits more news on his thigh injury.

For Dowman, who has made 18 senior appearances and holds several youngest-ever records, the ban is a short pause. Arteta’s message suggests the lesson of the Dowman red card will be a lasting one.

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A Hyrox athlete who kept racing through a sudden bout of diarrhoea in Beijing has said publicly that she got it wrong, just as she prepares to return to competition. Australian Joanna Wietrzyk, 24, told the BBC in her first interview since the incident that “the decision that I made in hindsight was the wrong decision and I’m truly sorry for everyone that I did affect.”

What happened in Beijing

Wietrzyk holds the women’s world record in the sport, with a time of 54:25. She says she went into the September race in Beijing “feeling fresh, feeling really, really good,” but that about halfway through, “everything did transpire.” She later said the cause was a bacterial infection from food poisoning. Photos of her appeared widely online, and she carried on to win the women’s Pro event.

The Mirror reported that organisers removed contaminated equipment and closed off affected lanes. The venue was also set for a deep clean, including carpet replacement, before the next day’s event. Hyrox China has reportedly refunded some competitors’ entry fees.

“My only focus is on racing”

Asked why she did not stop, Wietrzyk pointed to the mindset of elite competition. “As a very competitive person… and an elite athlete that I am, my only focus is on racing,” she said, adding: “Obviously I did put other people at risk.” She said nobody encouraged her to withdraw at the time, but also that “it was my decision to continue racing so I take full responsibility for that.”

Her first public reaction did little to help. She posted a hospital selfie on Instagram captioned “Go hard or go home… a win is a win.” She has since deleted it and says she regrets it, explaining that she was in “flight or fight mode” while seeking treatment. In the week after the race she apologised, forfeited the win and retroactively withdrew from the event. Pressed on whether the apology came too late or was damage limitation, she said she had not expected the scale of exposure and “needed those days to reflect on it and process it.”

How Hyrox has responded

The sport’s governing side has also acknowledged fault. Co-founder Moritz Fürste apologised and said it was a mistake not to react immediately during the race. Hyrox has now introduced rules that let race directors remove any athlete whose vomit, urine or faeces risk contamination or threaten the welfare of themselves or others. That matters in an event held mostly indoors on shared equipment. Hyrox alternates a kilometre of running with exercises such as sled pushes, burpee jumps, rowing and sandbag lunges. Founded in Hamburg in 2017, it has grown rapidly worldwide.

Hyrox also said anyone sending abuse or threats to the athlete would be banned from future events.

A return under scrutiny

Wietrzyk described the backlash as “traumatic” and said she had considered leaving the sport. She suggested she should not have received “such backlash” and said she is “only human,” while acknowledging that she had also received support. She said the episode showed social media can be a very “toxic place.”

She is due to compete in the Elite 15 division in Hamburg on Friday. In an Instagram video from the city she said she was “super excited to go back doing what I love.” She told the BBC she was nervous and hoped the episode would not define her: “I don’t want it to become my identity.” After weeks of reflection, she added, “there is more to life… than just racing and just winning.”

Her return will test whether a sport that has grown quickly can balance competitive drive with the health of everyone sharing the race floor. The rule change suggests the sport no longer wants to leave that decision to the athletes alone.

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The Max Dowman ban will stand after an independent commission rejected Arsenal’s appeal against the 16-year-old’s red card in their Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood Town. The Football Association confirmed on Thursday that the commission had dismissed claims of both wrongful dismissal and excessive punishment, leaving the teenager suspended for three matches.

He will miss Sunday’s trip to Liverpool, then the games against Hull and Newcastle. Sources differ slightly on how to describe those fixtures, but one report says he will not be available for a top-flight match until 29 November, when Arsenal host Manchester City. The FA said the commission’s written reasons will be published “in due course”, so the logic behind the verdict is not yet public.

What happened at Fleetwood

Referee Michael Salisbury sent Dowman off in the 85th minute on Tuesday. The winger had reacted to a heavy challenge from behind by Fleetwood’s Harrison Neal, and he was shown a red card for violent conduct after kicking out. The match finished 1-1. League Two Fleetwood then beat the Premier League champions 5-3 on penalties. Viktor Gyökeres had levelled after Aaron Loupalo-Bi put the hosts ahead.

The decision split opinion. One report says Dowman did not fully kick out, though his foot did make contact. Arsenal felt the referee had been harsh and argued that Dowman himself could have been seriously hurt by the tackle. The laws of the game define violent conduct as using or attempting to use excessive force or brutality against an opponent when not challenging for the ball, “regardless of whether contact is made”. That wording means the absence of a full kick does not settle the matter. The commission has not yet said how it read the rule.

Arteta’s reaction and a troubling pattern

Mikel Arteta was seen glaring at Dowman as he left the pitch and appeared to say something to him. Afterwards the manager said he had not spoken to the teenager about the incident. He added that the team had been “very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate” in their preparation. He also said he would watch the incident back before assessing it.

Paul Merson publicly criticised Arteta’s treatment of the player, saying “He’s a kid”. Ray Parlour called Dowman “a little bit unlucky” and said he must learn from the mistake. There is also a harder fact for the player. This was his second red card this month, after a dismissal playing for England’s Under-19s. That makes the argument that this was a one-off reaction harder to sustain, although the commission’s reasoning on that point remains unknown.

Consistency in how kicking-out incidents are punished is also part of the debate. One report notes that Phil Foden was sent off for kicking out at Bruno Fernandes in the Manchester derby this season, while Cole Palmer escaped a red card after crashing into Matheus Fernandes in Chelsea’s defeat to Tottenham.

A stretched Arsenal wing

The timing is awkward for Arsenal. Bukayo Saka, Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke are all injured, and Dowman was making only his second start of the season at Fleetwood. Arteta made nine changes for that game, and Ødegaard came on at half-time as Arsenal struggled to find rhythm.

The Max Dowman ban therefore removes another wide option just as Arsenal head to Anfield. It also keeps a teenager who has had limited game time out of league action for close to a month. Fleetwood, meanwhile, go into the first quarter-final in their history, at home to Everton or Newcastle. Arsenal’s focus is now on how they cover the flank, and on whether the commission’s written reasons shed any light on a decision that has divided supporters and pundits.

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Everton have made an example of Jack Grealish, and the timing could hardly be worse for a player whose Manchester City contract runs out at the end of this season. The 31-year-old was left out of the squad for the Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle United after missing Monday’s training session without permission.

The club chose to announce the reason itself. Alongside its team news on X, Everton said Grealish was “unavailable for selection due to a breach of club discipline.” Clubs usually pass off such absences as tactical or leave them unexplained, so the public statement signalled how seriously Everton took the lapse.

How the Jack Grealish decision was made

According to the Guardian, the decision was taken by manager David Moyes together with chief executive Angus Kinnear. BBC Sport reports it was made at a high level within the club, with Moyes’s full support. Grealish is expected to be fined. He has since returned to training at Finch Farm and has held talks with club officials.

Moyes would not elaborate after the match. “It’s a club decision and I support it,” he said, before talking about Everton’s values and the humility of his side. He did not name Grealish in those remarks, but the message was hard to miss. The Independent noted that Moyes named two goalkeepers among the substitutes rather than a spare outfield player.

A loan that has yet to catch fire

The episode lands on an already uneven season. Grealish rejoined Everton on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, arriving in a white Lamborghini and greeting fans until the early hours. Moyes had only 18 senior players after a troubled window, and the signing was meant to be a lift. Everton reportedly paid about £12m in total for last season’s loan and are paying a similar sum this time.

The Independent reports Grealish has made six appearances without scoring. He started four successive games before missing the weekend defeat at Arsenal through illness. He was expected back against Newcastle, but the training-ground absence ruled that out.

Everton coped without him

Everton won 3-1, and BBC Sport described it as arguably their best display of the season. The left flank, where Grealish might have played, went to 20-year-old Tyrique George, whose more direct approach suited the performance. The win sets up a quarter-final at League Two Fleetwood Town, who knocked out Arsenal in the previous round.

That success complicates Grealish’s route back. Moyes is short of options and cannot afford to cast out a player who can change a game, and BBC Sport says Everton do not see this as a “last chance saloon” moment. But the team has shown it can win without him.

What comes next for Jack Grealish

BBC Sport says there have been occasional time-keeping issues before, but nothing on this scale, and that he is generally seen as a hard trainer who looks after himself. He remains popular with supporters, who see him as one of their own. Britain’s first £100m footballer when he joined City from Aston Villa in 2021, and a key member of City’s 2023 Treble-winning side, he is now trying to rebuild a career that has slowed since.

With his deal at City ending and Everton’s patience tested, the coming weeks matter. Jack Grealish needs to show Moyes and the fans that Monday was a one-off, and that the talent still on show in flashes can become consistent contributions.

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Downing Street has stopped short of endorsing a Kane knighthood, but its warm words after the England captain’s Ballon d’Or win have fuelled the speculation. Kane collected the award at the London Palladium on Monday night. He is the first Englishman to win it in 25 years, and the first since Michael Owen in 2001.

Asked on Tuesday whether Prime Minister Andy Burnham would like to see Kane become “Sir Harry”, his spokesperson called the win “an extraordinary achievement” and said Kane had “given an enormous amount to English football”. She added that she would not “pre-empt the honours process”. It was a careful answer, and one that left the door open.

Why a Kane knighthood is not Burnham’s call

The prime minister cannot simply hand out a knighthood. Ministers and government departments can put names to the honours committee, as can members of the public. The sport committee includes the broadcaster Sue Barker and Robert Sullivan, chief executive of the Football Foundation. Number 10’s reluctance to say more is partly about protecting that process.

Timing may also count against Kane. Footballers have often had to wait until retirement for a knighthood. Kane already holds an MBE, awarded after England reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals. Sir David Beckham and Sir Gareth Southgate were both knighted last year, and before them the most recent football knight was Sir Kenny Dalglish.

A mixed record for England’s Ballon d’Or winners

Winning the Ballon d’Or has not guaranteed a knighthood. Sir Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award 70 years ago, and Sir Bobby Charlton also went on to be knighted. Owen and Kevin Keegan, however, never were. Kane is the fifth Englishman to win the award.

Some MPs want to see him join that list. Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting, told The Standard she hoped Kane would join “the pantheon of England’s footballing knights”. Clive Efford, the Labour MP for Eltham and Chislehurst, said Kane should be honoured “when his career is over”. He also called it a “travesty” that Bobby Moore never received a knighthood.

The season behind the award

The case rests on a remarkable 2025-26. Kane, 33, scored 73 goals for club and country, won two trophies with Bayern Munich and led England to third place at the World Cup. That was enough to beat Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal.

The ceremony itself was emotional. Brazil’s Ronaldo, one of Kane’s boyhood idols, read out his name. Kane spoke on stage for more than ten minutes and thanked his wife, Katie Goodland. “This is a trophy that we celebrate, not me,” he said, and he spoke of wanting to retain the award next year. England manager Thomas Tuchel said he had “run out of superlatives” for Kane’s performances. Spain’s Alexia Putellas won the women’s award for a record-equalling third time.

What comes next

Downing Street also looked ahead. It hoped the award would be a prelude to a trophy for England “before too long”. That appears to be a nod to the 2028 European Championship, which England will co-host with Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

No formal recommendation has been announced, and nothing suggests one is imminent. For now the Kane knighthood remains a matter of public debate. Many supporters will want it to come after he has added the international trophy that has so far eluded him.

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England’s tri-series exit was confirmed in Lahore on Tuesday when Sri Lanka dismissed Pakistan for 110 and chased the target down in just 18.1 overs, leaving Harry Brook’s side with three defeats from three and no route to Saturday’s final.

England had needed Pakistan to win to keep their hopes alive. Instead, Pakistan’s batters folded in 25.3 overs, and Sri Lanka’s eight-wicket victory put them into the final against the hosts. Thursday’s meeting between England and Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium is now a dead rubber.

Madushanka Does the Damage

Left-arm quick Dilshan Madushanka took a career-best 5-34 after captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and chose to field. Fakhar Zaman fell for five, caught at point off a short ball. Asitha Fernando then trapped Maaz Sadaqat lbw with a yorker, and Saad Baig chipped a catch to short cover as Pakistan slipped to 46-3.

Babar Azam top-scored with 29 but wasted a review when he was plainly lbw to Eshan Malinga. Shadab Khan, who had made an unbeaten 113 to win Sunday’s match against England, lasted five balls. By the time Madushanka returned for a second spell, Pakistan were 64-6, and he removed Hasan Nawaz, Harris Rauf and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi to finish the innings.

It was Pakistan’s second-lowest ODI total at home. Only the 75 all out against Sri Lanka in Lahore in 2009 was worse. Four of their top five made single figures. “Unfortunately, for the last three or four games we are collapsing at the top order,” Afridi said, adding that the team had three days to practise before the final.

A Brisk Chase

Kamindu Mendis made the chase look routine. He was dropped before he had scored and survived an lbw decision on 44 by successful review. He finished unbeaten on 62 from 60 balls, with eight fours and two sixes. His fifty came with a pull for six, after a substitute fielder had touched the boundary while completing a catch. Pavan Rathnayake, who hit a century in Sri Lanka’s record-chasing win in Rawalpindi, added an unbroken 52 with him and finished on 23 not out.

The floodlight towers were not yet fully on when the winning runs came. “We bowled really well in the powerplay,” Kusal Mendis said, though he added that there were still areas to improve.

What the England Tri-Series Exit Means

The England tri-series exit stings because England had rebuilt some one-day momentum this year, with wins away in Sri Lanka and at home against India and Sri Lanka. In Pakistan, though, they failed to chase 303 despite being 120-1, and they lost twice in extraordinary fashion. In one game, Sri Lanka chased 430 against them, the second-highest successful chase in ODI history. On Sunday, Pakistan won by one wicket after a last-wicket stand of 89.

Conditions at next year’s World Cup in southern Africa will be very different, so the results are not a direct guide. Still, after a poor 2023 World Cup defence and a winless Champions Trophy last year, three more defeats are an unwelcome result.

Pakistan finished the league stage on six points from three wins, with Sri Lanka on four. England will play their last game on Thursday, with first ball at 8am UK time. They then travel to Australia for three ODIs and five T20s from 13 November, preceded by a warm-up against a Western Australia XI in Perth on 7 November. That tour now offers their next chance to put the Lahore defeats behind them.

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A drone delay of roughly eight minutes interrupted Fleetwood Town’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie with Arsenal on Tuesday night, after an unauthorised aircraft was spotted hovering above the pitch at Highbury Stadium.

What happened during the drone delay

According to the Independent, referee Michael Salisbury stopped the game in the eighth minute and took the players off the field as a safety precaution. Fleetwood, the home side, confirmed that the drone was not one they recognised, meaning it had no permission to be there.

Salisbury did not act alone. He spoke with both managers and the ground safety officer while the aircraft was still overhead. Play resumed only once the drone had flown out of the stadium’s airspace, and the match restarted after a pause of about eight minutes. The sources do not say who was operating the drone or why it was there.

A tie already loaded with significance

The interruption came in a fixture that was already drawing attention. League Two Fleetwood were the lowest-ranked side left in the competition. The Standard reports they had knocked out three opponents without conceding a goal to reach this stage, and The Sporting News notes the Fishermen had never before made it this far. A win would send them into the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Arsenal, beaten finalists last season, were widely expected to progress. Mikel Arteta made nine changes from the weekend’s 2-0 win over Everton, with one eye on Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Liverpool. Max Dowman started, Ilan Meslier made his competitive debut, and Martin Zubimendi returned wearing a protective face mask after a bloodied nose against Everton.

Fleetwood strike after the restart

If the drone delay unsettled anyone, it was not the hosts. Aaron Loupalo-Bi put Fleetwood ahead in the 21st minute, and the Standard’s live coverage had them 1-0 up at half-time. Arsenal pushed for an equaliser late in the first half, and Timber headed wide from a free-kick in stoppage time. Fleetwood held the lead at the break.

The sources available only run to the interval, so the final result is not covered here. What they do establish is that a safety-first decision by the referee cost the match about eight minutes and left the contest otherwise unchanged. The pause also showed how seriously officials take unauthorised drones at live matches. Salisbury cleared the pitch, consulted the managers and the safety officer, and restarted only when the airspace was clear.

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File photo: Home fans entrance at Fleetwood Town FC – geograph.org.uk – 3139837.jpg by Steve Daniels, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.